Local extinction and the evolution of dispersal rates: Causes and correlations

Authored by Hans Joachim Poethke, Thomas Hovestadt, O Mitesser

Date Published: 2003

DOI: 10.1086/368224

Sponsors: European Union German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

We present the results of individual-based simulation experiments on the evolution of dispersal rates of organisms living in metapopulations. We find conflicting results regarding the relationship between local extinction rate and evolutionarily stable (ES) dispersal rate depending on which principal mechanism causes extinction: if extinction is caused by environmental catastrophes eradicating local populations, we observe a positive correlation between extinction and ES dispersal rate; if extinction is a consequence of stochastic local dynamics and environmental fluctuations, the correlation becomes ambiguous; and in cases where extinction is caused by dispersal mortality, a negative correlation between local extinction rate and ES dispersal rate emerges. We conclude that extinction rate, which both affects and is affected by dispersal rates, is not an ideal predictor for optimal dispersal rates.

Tags

Migration Dynamics selection Density-dependent dispersal Strategies Environments Landscapes Metapopulation models Habitat persistence Structured population